Persuasive communication

One of the key themes of Practical Eloquence is that it is far, far better to get people to do things for their own reasons than for yours.

You’ve heard the trite old saying: “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach him to fish and you feed him for life.” It applies to persuasion as well as teaching. When you provide external incentives to get someone to change their behavior, it’s like giving them a fish. It’s easy to get people to do things to gain rewards or avoid punishments, but the desired behavior only lasts as long as you have the ability to a) monitor the behavior and b) furnish the necessary reward or punishment. If you want to drive lasting behavior change, you’ve got to find ways to get people to do things for their own reasons, and the best way to do this is to use their sense of who they are to provide internal, long-lasting motivation.

I actually first learned this when I was 15, though I didn’t know it at the time. I was a member of the Jack Nelson Swim Club. Nelson had been an Olympic swimmer and Olympic coach, and was a legend in swimming circles. I wasn’t good enough to be coached directly by him, so when I was summoned to his office, I was terrified. I had been a smart-aleck and all-around pain in the rear to my coach and pretty much ignored his yelling and threats, but now I knew that I was in for it. I was already figuring out how I was going to tell my parents I had been thrown off the team.

Election season is upon us, so our mailboxes are filled with persuasion attempts. While it’s tempting to just throw them away, it can be instructive to examine them carefully to see what works and what does not work. Yesterday, I received a copy of this appeal that one of my readers had received, and she asked for my opinion. Her subject line read: “Example of a persuasive political message I actually find persuasive”, so you know what she thought of it.

For decades, Jerry Brown has been a champion for the people of California. He has served as governor, as mayor of Oakland, and is currently the attorney general.

Brevity is one of the most critical attributes of practical eloquence, because you’re dealing with ever-shrinking attention spans and the discipline of distilling your message to its essence will greatly clarify your thinking.

Here’s one of the best examples of brief eloquence that I’ve come across.

When General Ira Eaker led the first contingents of the 8th Air Force to England in 1942, try hopes were running high for America to add its muscle to the war against Nazi Germany. So, when he was asked to speak at a luncheon, the audience was poised to hang on his every word. Here’s his speech, in its entirety:

“We won’t do much talking until we’ve done more fighting. After we’ve gone, we hope you’ll be glad we came.”

He sat down amid thunderous applause.

If you have any other examples of brief but powerful messages, please share them.

Reading annual reports can be a lot like taking an Ambien on a long flight after a few glasses of wine: if it doesn’t put you to sleep it will definitely befuddle you. That’s why it is so refreshing to read Warren Buffett’s yearly letters. His tremendous knack for candidness, plain speaking, vividness and audience focus is refreshing and instructive.

Candidness: Most annual reports, Enron notwithstanding, are not actually dishonest. They don’t lie outright, but they do make it difficult to figure out the truth, especially when that truth reflects unfavorably on the leadership. Buffett’s self-effacing candidness actually increases his credibility.

“And now a painful confession: Last year your chairman closed the book on a very expensive business fiasco entirely of his own making.” (2009)

“During 2008 I did some dumb things in investments. I made at least one major mistake of commission and several lesser ones that also hurt. I will tell you more about these later. Furthermore, shop I made some errors of omission, sucking my thumb when new facts came in that should have caused me to re-examine my thinking and promptly take action.” (2008)

“Before making this commitment, Bill and Scott again asked for my advice. Initially, I was pretty puffed up about the fact that they were consulting me. But then it dawned on me that the opinion of someone who is always wrong has its own special utility to decision-makers.” (2004)